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Last updated on Wednesday, November 12, 2014
(INDIANAPOLIS) - The controversy surrounding a deer management plan at Eagle Creek Park is far from over.
FOX59 news reports that a lawsuit has been filed on behalf of a citizen to try and stop hunts scheduled to occur in a matter of weeks.
The legal action was filed Monday afternoon and names the city of Indianapolis, Public Safety Director Troy Riggs, Department of Parks Director John Williams, and Mayor Greg Ballard as defendants.
Back in September, the city's parks board signed off on the management plan to thin out the white-tailed deer herd at Eagle Creek Park. Wildlife experts said the park is overflowing with deer, and the animals are damaging the eco-system.
A company is working with the city to control the hunt, one of which would involve wounded veterans the chance to hunt, the other would give professional sharpshooters a try.
In the suit, attorneys and the plaintiff want immediate action to stop hunts scheduled to occur in a matter of weeks.
Arend J. Abel, the attorney who filed the suit, drew it up on behalf of a longtime park user. He disputes the reasoning that the deer are harming the ecosystem and points to the fact that there's never been an exact count of the deer.
He said regardless, Indy Parks went about the hunt in the the wrong way. Abel claims firing a gun in a city park needs city-county council approval and public notice.
At Monday night's city-county council meeting, councillors sent a proposal back to committee after debate and an amendment. If approved, it would give them voting power over any future hunts. It's a proposal sponsored by Councillor Angela Mansfield.
Abel is asking for a judge to intervene fast, requiring action before November 27th to halt any hunts planned for this year.
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